Waiting is The Hardest Part
by KandyHawes
Summary: Claire "Kitten" Andrews waits to find out if her boyfriend of three years is ever coming home when he disappears in Afghanistan. Established Tony/OFC, one-shot.


**Okay, so this is my first Avengers/Iron Man fic AND its my first one-shot. I'm not fond of the Tony/Pepper ship so I decided to make my own. If enough people like it I may make it into a multi-chapter but as of now its just a one-shot although I do have the plot worked out for a full story. Also I do have a Barton one-shot in the works as well so keep an eye out ^.^ Before I forget if you listen to I will Always return by Bryan Adams it sort of fits I think. Anyway I own nothing with the exception of Claire Andrews. Enjoy, please R&R.**

The waiting is the worst part, waiting to know whether he's dead or alive. I'm used to waiting on Tony, but when I do is not a matter of life or death, no, normally I'm waiting for him to emerge from his labs, or for him to be ready for whatever event we were going to. While I would find myself frequently annoyed by this, I really wished that it was the reason I was waiting. Instead I find myself curled up on the sofa wearing one of his many t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants, watching the television as the headlines continue to say the same thing. Tony Stark was missing after the humvee he was in was attacked while in Afghanistan. Everyone he'd been travelling with had been killed but there was no sign of my Tony, no body, no anything. There hadn't been any ransom demands as of yet either, and this is what worried me the most. He had either been taking hostage or was wandering the desert alone. On one hand I hoped that he was in the desert, because who knows what they were doing to him, but on the other hand, one wouldn't be able to survive more that three days without water out there and he'd been missing for seven.

While knowing that he can take care of himself I can't help but worry. The fact is that he could already be dead and I can't imagine my living in a world without Tony. Tony is my everything, we met nearly three years ago, and he did everything in his power to annoy the hell out of me before I finally gave in and agreed to go on a date with him. I'd never thought that it would go farther than that, what would the playboy billionaire Tony Stark want with me, a lowly waitress at some fancy restaurant? Somehow though, against all odds, we've managed to stay together. After six short months of dating I moved in with him, I had tried to continue working at the restaurant but he wouldn't let me unless it were for his company. I refused to live with him and not work so I now help Pepper by acting as a second assistant to Tony. According to him Pepper seemed happier with me around, I had asked her about it once and she had said it was because she wasn't having to chase strange women out of the house and I helped lighten her work load.

As of now I have no idea as to what to do with myself, I'm pretty sure that I've worn a path through the living room due to all the pacing that I've been doing, and while I could go out and spend time with friends, I much rather staying home. Besides, every time that I have left the house since news of his disappearance broke I end up surrounded by the media. This is something that I have gotten used to over the last few years however, normally I have Tony with me and the attention is on him. With him missing, they want information, everyone wants to know where Tony is, but no one wants to know more than I do. We, as in Stark industries, have yet to make a public statement about his disappearance. Even if we were going to what could we say? We know no more than the very little that the army has told us. All we were told was that they had been attacked and he was missing, no more and no less.

They wouldn't tell me any details, where exactly they'd been, who he'd been with, only that everyone else had died. When I had asked what the chances of him coming home were, they refused to answer. This had all occurred the day that we found out he was gone, which in reality was the second day he was gone they had thought it was better not to tell me right away. I was hysterical that day, not understanding what was happening and throwing myself into an asthma attack minutes after I was told. I had been lucky that day because Pepper had been there. We had a movie night the night before and rather than he returning home she'd stayed the night and so she had been present at breakfast when an army official had showed up at the front door. At one point she'd been ready to call for one of the doctors Tony always had on standby to have me sedated but I managed to calm myself down.

Fast forward one month and we're still waiting. There has been no news since he initially disappeared. Obadiah is now running the company and the media has calmed down, only mentioning his name now maybe once a week. I find myself struggling to get through the days. Tony always kept me busy in some way or another, making the days fly by quickly. No they drag on and on. Sleeping was difficult, every time I get in bed at night; I was reminded that he wasn't there. I wrap myself around his pillow, wearing his shirts and boxers while I attempted to sleep. Nightmares are a regular occurrence now, always the same one, being told that he was dead and then attending the funeral.

Pepper has been staying in one of the guest rooms all the time now, keeping an eye on me and forcing me to eat the meals that I didn't want, telling me that Tony wouldn't want ne wasting away because if him. Although I do know that if he was here he'd crack some sort of joke about it, or at least in front of her he would, later when we were alone he'd give me shit for not taking care of myself and that's the only reason I allow her to make me eat, because when he comes home, I want to be okay, I don't want him to come home from being away so long and then have to worry about my health like I know he secretly would.

Two months, it's been two very long months since Tony went missing and now I've begun to lose hope. His smell has faded from his pillow; I can no longer hear his voice, his laugh or his familiar music blasting from one of his many labs where we spent a lot of our time. I miss him more and more each day. I even missed seeing him on the news for his stupid antics. Most of all, I miss him holding me at night as if I were going to fade away. When we'd go back to bed at night he would latch on to me and never let until morning, and I love him for it.

While I miss him, I've forced myself to get used to the fact that he's gone, sending Pepper back to her own home. I'm trying to get things as close to normal as I can, I've started eating on my own again, sleeping was still an issue but that's okay, as long as I have at least four hours I can function. I still cry at night, Jarvis would try to comfort me as much as an A.I can; he even plays some footage he had of myself and Tony that I didn't know he had. It was the two of us dancing in the living room, clothes soaked from the rain that had appeared out of nowhere while we'd ate dinner on the balcony. At first the footage made me cry harder, but after awhile it began to make me feel better, like he was still here in a way. After he had played the footage the first time I had asked Jarvis why he had the footage and he had said it was because Tony wanted to have it for when he was away from home. This made me cry again.

I feel like I shouldn't be surprised that he has video stored away but just knowing that he had it for when he missed me means a lot to me. It means that even though he didn't always show it, he really could be sentimental, although he'll never admit it. Its sort of like how he doesn't often tell me that he loves me, I'd tell him everyday and he always answered saying "me too". But the thing is that he's never had to tell me, I just know that he does by the little things he does, some subtle and others not so much, some of which include making sure that my car is working perfectly since I refuse to let him buy me a new one. He willingly sits through a romantic film, although the deal is that I have to watch whatever he chooses after my pick has ended, this has been known to be dangerous, he chose porn once just to see how I'd react. We spent hour after hour curled up on the sofa watching films when he wasn't working or down in his labs. He always had to be touching me too, an arm around my shoulders, hand on my knee or resting on the small of my back, it didn't matter where he was touching, as long as he was he was happy.

He has officially been missing for three months, I know because I've been keeping track on a calendar I have hidden in my bedside drawer. Nothing has changed in the past month; he's still missing, gone without a trace, while Pepper and I worry. With the exception of Happy we seem to be the only people who think that there is any chance of finding him, everyone else says he's long dead, but I refuse to listen to them. I've been spending my time with paperwork for the company, with Obadiah acting as CEO, two assistance really aren't necessary considering my job was basically just to control Tony. Pepper agreed to let me take some of the paperwork off her hands just to keep me from going insane. Yesterday was a particularly difficult day for me; it had been our third anniversary an instead of being happy, all that could go wrong, did go wrong, the only exception being that no one told me that was dead. For that I'm grateful.

I woke up this morning in a better mood and decided that I needed to go for a walk on the nearby beach before I headed out to do errands and finishing off paperwork. As I always do, I brought Happy with me; he would always come with me if Tony was unavailable. Normally we would jog but I really didn't feel like it today. Happy and I always have something to talk about and we are fairly close, he's more than just a bodyguard, he's my big brother just like Pepper is a big sister. It was weird at first, having him around but it didn't take long for me to adapt. We'd been walking a good thirty minutes when Happy's phone rang. I wandered off while he took the call, moving farther down the beach until I found a spot I liked and sat just out of reach of the water rushing on to the sand.

I didn't hear him walking towards me and jumped a little when he sat down beside me. "We need to head back, that was Pepper. They found him." My heart stopped as he spoke, they found him; they found my Tony. "Did she say if he's alive or not?" Even now, knowing he's been found I don't want to get my hopes up. "She doesn't know, Rhodes called her but didn't give her any details other than we're to meet him at the airfield in two hours." Two hours, that means that he was found yesterday, why hadn't he called us then? Why wait? Better yet, why wasn't it Tony who called? I shakily stood with Happy's help, even he looks concerned and that alone worries me.

Together we walked to the car before heading back to the house and to the end of this nightmare, whether it has a happy ending or not, it is ending. I was quiet for the duration of the ten-minute drive and when we arrive Pepper is seated on the sofa in tears. My heart completely drops, tears can only mean one thing, he's gone. I felt myself falling, landing on my knees and chanting "no, no, no." I don't hear Pepper move but I felt her arms wrap around me before making me look up at her. "Claire, you silly woman, he's alive, these are happy tears. Just relax sweetheart." Alive, he's really alive and coming home. It took me a few minutes of shaky breaths but I was able to calm myself. "He's really alive? Its finally over?" I was in a daze, I had thought for a moment that I had lost him forever and yet he would be home in mere hours. "Yes Claire, he's coming home. Now here's what I want you to do. I have some phone calls I have to make so I want you to go have a shower and then we'll leave okay?"

I never answered her but I did as she told me, picking myself up off the floor and heading to the master bathroom for what I thought would be a quick shower, instead it was a twenty minute one and when I emerged Pepper and Happy were ready to leave. The airbase was about an hour and a half away and so we'd have to eave now or miss the arrival. Pepper and I sat in the back seat, her on the phone again and me staring out of the window at the passing scenery. It seemed like the longest drive I have ever been on. Finally after what seemed like forever we arrived and Happy was permitted to park out of the way but still on the tarmac. I stood with both him and Pepper beside, smoothing out my skirt and watching the sky for any signs of them.

Waiting is the worst part. Now that I know he's alive I can't wait to hold him again and be held. I don't care what shape he's in at this point, as long as he's home. I looked down at my feet, kicking a stray rock when I heard it, my head snapping up to look. The sound of a plane, the engines roaring as it barreled towards was near deafening. I watched as it came closer and closer, lower and lower until its wheels finally touched the ground with the brakes and tires squealing in protest. My heart hammered in my chest as the door opened. There he stood, for a moment just a shadow until the door opened fully. A wheelchair stood behind him, abandoned and lonely looking. He stood tall, looking weary and with one arm in a sling. I wanted to run to him, to wrap my arms around him and never let go. Instead it was as if I had grown roots and couldn't move. Accompanied by James Rhodes he made his way down the ramp and over to us where he grinned. "What no kiss?" I burst out crying once again and flung myself at him at gently as I could, mindful of his arm. I didn't think it was possible but I cried even harder as he wrapped his good arm around my waist. He was saying something to Pepper but I just wasn't paying attention, I was too busy trying to stop crying.

Pepper had gotten into the car when Tony pulled away from me slightly, I tried to follow but he stopped me. "You know, if I didn't know better I'd think you missed me." Laughing a little I pulled him close again, wanting a long overdue kiss from my man. Thankfully he got the hint, leaning down he kissed me gently once and then again, both of us pouring all of our emotions from the last three months into that one kiss. When we finally came up for air he hugged me close, letting me rest my head against his chest, something felt off, like there was something in my way, we'll talk about that later though because right now I just want to enjoy being in his arms again. Closing my eyes I smiled as I heard him whisper, almost inaudible. "I love you Kitten." For a moment I said nothing, and then I looked up at him, being that happiest I've been in what seems like a lifetime. "I love you too Tony, and if you ever disappear on my like that again I'll kill you myself." Predictably he laughed, kissing my forehead before leading me to the car. "Come on then, I want a cheeseburger, a press conference and my own bed!" Hoping that this would be the last of the excitement for a while I let him get in the car before me, and once I sat beside him I made sure to be as close as possible. Yes all was right in my world again, for how long I don't know but it's the now that matters.


End file.
